Getting through the craving

Today, what’s on the top of my mind is taking my ADHD medication. I know if I can make it to 3pm, I will not take it. I have removed my means of escape: ambien, so if I take it after 3pm, I will face a sleepless or restless night.

Arguments my brain is posing:

You’re going to cave any ways.

You need to take it to get anything done.

It will assist you with your food cravings.

No one will notice or care if you do take it.

All of your successful friends takes it.

You are not good enough to not take it.

You can handle the effects, you are smart enough to mitigate the side effects.

It’s not actually that bad of a substance, you’re just OCD.

You’ll have no excuse to avoid the gym due to heart rate elevation if you do not take it.

You’ll have a higher metabolism if you take it.

This negative brain chatter I might have consciously noticed 1 to 3 of them, but it took writing the thoughts down to really become aware of these arguments. When a craving hits, write down all the reasons your mind is consciously or subconsciously telling you. It is okay if you are not sure every reason it is lobbing at you. With time, you will become more and more acutely sensitized to the messages pulling you towards a substance.

After you write down these arguments, replace the messages with messages of strength of the transformed you that you outlined in Blog 2.

I have made it 6 hours today without needing/caving. Even if it takes just saying no 5 minutes at a time, I know I can get to 3pm.

If I split my time up and have conscious thought into my activities, I can get many things done, albeit if I do not conquer all, I will not hate myself, as I did the best I could.

I should not ignore my food cravings as they are indicative of needs.

I will notice and I care.

My will is not dictated by what my friends do.

I am made of the same atoms and molecules every human is composed of, I am deserving of a free life as much as any human is.

I should not have to “handle” any effects

If it was not that bad for me, then I would not have any cognitive dissonance when I take it.

After writing this out, I already feel much calmer and more confident in my abilities. This is not to say the craving is 100% gone, but I no longer feel weak. Try it out and tell me if it’s worked for you.
*Picture significance: the cloud over my head is manufactured of my own dampening thoughts and not indicative of the true nature inside

Published by S.VanLumen

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5 thoughts on “Getting through the craving”

There is also the bully analogy. Looking at the cravings like they are a bully trying to push you around.
The more zen way is to let the brain chatter away, and observe the arguments with a sort of…detached curiosity. Examine them from a medical point of view. “My brain wants me to do this because…”